… Six populations in Illinois were reintroduced over 30 years ago, using plants that resulted from cross pollinations between the three remaining plants in Illinois and those from the largest remaining population in Ohio. However, only three of the populations from the reintroduction have survived and are unlikely to survive over the long-term. “We suspect …
Type: Research
… do well in low light and don’t need much fertilization; give them a bit of food once a week from April to October. Phalaenopsis orchids don’t need much water so go easy on the hydration. And stay away from a common misconception about care: do not use an ice cube to water these tropical plants. … (just not blue) and are known for their large, fragrant flowers. You might recognize them from being commonly used in orchid corsages. While they’re not too difficult to grow, be careful …
Type: Blog
… arborvitae ( Thuja ), yews ( Taxus) , boxwoods ( Buxus ), and other evergreens. Branch damage from voles and rabbits can also be bad, and heavy and prolonged snow cover can promote snow … is likely to appear once the weather is consistently warm, though many plants will recover from the long, hard winter. While plants may have to be severely pruned or removed altogether, a … vapor through their leaves or needles. The leaves must replace the water by pulling it up from the roots. But when the ground is frozen, the plants’ roots cannot absorb water to resupply …
Type: Blog
… So we sent out a simple query: do you grow orchids at home? Here follows the best answer ever, from Jim Ault , Ph.D. (He’s our director of ornamental plant research and manager of the … puzzle of how best to cultivate them. I first got interested in orchids in the 1970s, both from seeing some in the greenhouses at the University of Michigan, and also from visiting my grandmother in Miami. She was very active in the Florida fern society of the …
Type: Blog
… scientists. Prairie Pondering is just one of the Garden’s guided field trips , where students from Chicago area schools can experience the day-to-day work of a Garden ecologist. Trained Garden volunteers engage students in guided field trips from September to June. They use the same tools as horticultural scientists, take samples in the … dry, smells bad. “What is the temperature of the soil? Why do you think it’s different from the temperature in the air?” One girl watches her thermometer fluctuate from 77 to 76 …
Type: Blog
… white plumage of the great egret ( Ardea alba ) belie its harsh croak when it takes off from a marsh. It was this bird’s beauty that nearly led to its demise at the turn of the … has become the symbol for the National Audubon Society, founded in part to stop these birds from being killed to extinction. Great egrets spend winter as far south as the West Indies, … top and above or near water. The female lays three to four greenish-blue eggs and gets help from her mate during incubation. When the young hatch in about 24 days, the nestlings begin …
Type: Blog
… won't be back until March, when the ice begins to melt and the aquatic critters below awaken from their winter snooze. The only place to find a bufflehead during extremely cold winters in …
Type: Birding
… underside of leaves; yellow foliage with dark spots; and any leaves that have already dropped from the plant. Begin a spray program with approved fungicides immediately. Always choose …
Type: Plant Info
… anxious to grow Knock Out or other landscape roses. When planting bare root in April, or from a container later on, make sure the graft union is planted 1 to 2 inches below soil level. …
Type: Plant Info
… and free with admission. Immerse yourself in a habitat filled with colorful live butterflies from around the world. Nearby in the Grunsfeld Children’s Growing Garden, you will find the …
Type: Blog
